Thursday, 9 April 2015

FIGURES OF SPEECH: John Rapley on Obama's visit + Esther Tyson on morals + Glen Mills on Bolt's legacy, and more

"Although [Barack Obama] soldiers on with his domestic agenda, he can only accomplish so much given the hostility of the Republican Congress to him, and indeed to all things Democratic. His visit to Jamaica can be seen in that light. It has none of the ideological significance of, say, Edward Seaga's invitation to Washington DC in 1981, when the incoming Reagan administration signalled it would be implementing a new approach to the Caribbean. But if it is just a flying visit, it is not without significance. Making a quick stop in Jamaica en route to a summit makes perfect sense, since it gives Washington a chance to shore up regional security cooperation." — Columnist John Rapley writing in The Sunday Gleaner of April 5, 2015

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"One could never argue against ensuring that a child is given the best nutrition for good health, particularly in the formative years for brain and physiological development. However when the recommendations were presented to us in Switzerland, we were well into our Budget presentation. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security would play an integral role as to the way forward for any amendments in this area." — Youth and Culture minister Lisa Hanna, responding to a new recommendation by the Swiss-based Geneva Infant Feeding Association, urging the government to pay women for all 12 months of maternity leave underthe 1979 Maternity Leave Act

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"I am the first to admit that the government has made great strides in this area, and has proved to be very facilitative of consultation and must be commended for this. But if we are to be world-class, there is more to be done. And we at the PSOJ have been dialoguing with the respective authorities in this regard." — PSOJ president William Mahfood on the newly introduced gas tax and its potential impact

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"I told him that despite the fact that he has achieved all that he has set out to achieve in the sport, as long as he is competing he has to maintain the standard that he has set for himself, and it is imperative because if he doesn't he could hurt his legend by hanging around and performing at a level below his standard. Not many people remember vividly the past accolades; they tend to go by what you're doing now." — Usain Bolt's coach Glen Mills offering some advice to the record-breaking World's Fastest Man

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"There needs to be some agreement on the sentences that should be given for certain offences so that we have an idea of what judges will give. What you have now is, even in a plea deal, one judge may give you five years while another will give you 25 for the same offence." — Attorney Valerie Neita Robinson calling for changes to the Criminal Justice (Plea Negotiations and Agreement) Act

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"We need to realize that money is not the greatest good. The latest example of that message being touted in Jamaica is seen in Digicel using Michael O'Hara in a marketing stint at Champs. The rampant buying of students by well-endowed schools is another such example. If corporate Jamaica and principals are chasing winnings at any cost, what can we expect the young to do? We need to use our music, dance and media to teach people to honour God first, their families, nation and themselves above money." — Educator Esther Tyson in her April 5 Sunday Gleaner column, "Things Fall Apart"

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"We have a good platform to build on. We have some students who are leaving us, but the future looks bright for Calabar High. The aim now is to win seven in a row. We have a new track to be laid out in a couple of months, but for now the focus is on academics. We have to make sure that the same enthusiasm goes into the schoolwork. What's important is that [the athletes] now get the relevant make-up classes." — Calabar High principal Albert Corcho reflecting on the school's track-and-field programme in a post-Champs interview with TALLAWAH recently